Herb Kelleher thanks Southwest Airlines’ ‘parents’ on 40th birthday

Kelleher referred to the Texas Legislature and the state Supreme Court as “the parents of Southwest Airlines” as both institution nurtured the fledging airlines that found itself “in constant battles with other airlines.”

Herb Kelleher

The existing airlines didn’t welcome upstart Southwest Airlines when it launched in Texas in June of 1971.

Still referring to lawmakers as the airlines parent, Kelleher noted: “Your child has served as a role model for carriers around the world. Billions of people have been able to fly who previously could not,” the former San Antonio lawyer said, referring to the airliner’s no frills, cheap fares tradition.

Southwest Airlines dropped a bag of peanuts on each member’s desk on the House floor.

Kelleher said he knew Southwest Airlines had made it when the late Bob Bullock (former comptroller and lieutenant governor) cited Blue Bell ice cream and Southwest Airlines that represented “the spirit of Texas.”

In part, House Resolution 20 by Rep. Tom Craddick, R-Midland, says: “This impressive record of customer satisfaction is no doubt linked to Southwest’s approach to employee relations; in 1973, the company initiated the first profit-sharing program in the U.S. airline industry; among its many honors, Southwest is often recognized as one of the best places in the country to work….Over the last four decades, the percentage of American adults who have flown on a commercial airliner has risen from 15 to 85 percent, a result that is often referred to as the “Southwest effect.”